While U.S. Income Mobility Stagnates, China's Soars Ahead

The latest World Bank study charting global income inequality from 1998 – 2008 has been released with startling implications for the U.S. economy, reports the Washington Post.

The good news: “On a global scale, inequality appears to have declined as tens of millions of formerly poor people in China, India and Brazil moved toward and into the middle class.”

The bad news: “Some groups – those who earn a lot by global standards but would be middle class in the richer countries – have been sliding lower.”

The winner: China, which has “‘filled up’ the relatively hollow part of the global income distribution … Of the 20 income subgroups where income grew the fastest, 11 were in China. Among developed nations, only the poorest in the United Kingdom managed to make the leader board.”

The bottom line: Developed countries, including the U.S., “have seen comparative stagnation” during this ten year period.